Mod Tutorials
This is a step-by-step tutorial on how to create an example mod. We're going to add a new gun, modify a ship type, and remove one type of bar character from the game. Step 1: Getting Started First, we're going to follow the instructions under Step 1 in the Getting Started with Mods section to create a new Mod folder: * Right-Click '3030 Deathwar Redux' in Steam library * Click "Properties" * Select "Local Files" tab * Click "Browse Local Files.." * Open the "mods" folder * Launch "3030 Redux Mod Uploader" * On the bottom left, enter a name for your mod (in this example it will be called "yourMod" * Click "Create Item" * Edit the description if you like (leave the rest for later) * Hit Save & Submit * Wait for "Success" message * Close the 3030 Redux Mod Uploader Step 2: Adding a new File First, we want to add a new gun file. To give us an easy start, let's copy and paste an existing gun from the game's folders. Weapons are located in data/weapons/ so that's where we'll navigate to now: 3030 Deathwar Redux/data/weapons/ Copy any of the TXT files of guns in the folder. For this example we'll use the belabor. Copy "belabor.txt" Now go to your mod's weapons folder and paste the file into the folder. It would be located here: 3030 Deathwar Redux/mods/packages/yourMod/data/weapons/ Because we're adding a new gun, let's rename the file. We'll call it "moddingcannon.txt" Now open the file and change around a few values: * name=modding cannon * ticker=4 * damage=2 * life=30 Now save and close the file. Step 3: Replacing/Modifying an existing File Now we're going to modify a ship. So let's go find one to mess with! Go to the data/ships/ folder in the game's files. So that should be: 3030 Deathwar Redux/data/ships/ Now pick a ship to modify, maybe the Jeff? Copy "Jeff.txt" Now go to your mod's ship folder and paste the file in there. It is located here: 3030 Deathwar Redux/mods/packages/yourMod/data/ships/ Because we're modifying the file, we're not going to change the file's name this time. Simply open the file and edit some values: * turnSpeed=0.74 * warpSpeed=200 * maxmissiles=20 Now we're talking! That's the kind of Jeff I wanna see! :D Save and close the file. ☀A note on naming conventions for character images: Only use an underscore before listing the images qualities (i.e. charImage_50x108_4.png means the name is charImage the actual width of the char is 50 pixels (108 pixels tall) and there are 4 "slides" in the image file to create animation). Step 4: Setting up Instructions for Mod Manager Go back to your mod's base directory. If the mods is still called yourMod, it would be here: 3030 Deathwar Redux/mods/packages/yourMod/ Open the Mod Manager instruction file. It's called "mod_info.txt" (Don't ever rename this file) Delete everything in the file. Now let's see, we wanted to add a new gun, so let's write out the line: * add=data/weapons/moddingcannon.txt Next up, we wanted to modify the Jeff a bit. So in the next line let's write: * replace=data/ships/Jeff.txt And finally, we wanted to remove an annoying character from the bar! I'll save you the work of going into the folder and looking for one, but if you really want to, it's located here: 3030 Deathwar Redux/data/stations/standing_at_bar Who to remove.. we'll choooose.... Bikini Girl! Yeah, that's right, who stands around in a Space Bar in a Bikini anyway? This isn't the beach! Ok, so in the next line let's write: * remove=data/stations/standing_at_bar/BikiniG_50x108_4.png The file should now have three lines in total: * add=data/weapons/moddingcannon.txt * replace=data/ships/Jeff.txt * remove=data/stations/standing_at_bar/BikiniG_50x108_4.png And that's it! Now save and close the file. Step 5: Testing the Mod Because we are prudent modders, we are of course going to test our mod before letting it loose in the wild. So let's go launch the game from Steam, and pick "Play Mod Manager". (You can also simply launch "3030 Deathwar Mod Manager" from the game's directory as long as Steam is running) Now from the list, find your mod and hit "Activate" at the far right of it. The button should turn green and the mod should appear active. Now launch the game and give the Jeff a go! Maybe buy a Modding Cannon while you're at it. And keep an eye out for half-naked bar ladies, they shouldn't be anywhere to be seen! Once you're happy that everything is working as it should, it's time to upload your mod to the Workshop. Step 6: Uploading to Steam Workshop We're simply going to follow the instructions from Step 4 of Getting Started with Mods: * Launch "3030 Redux Mod Uploader" * Select your mod from the list * Check you are happy with all the descriptions * Change Visibility to "public" * Hit Save & Submit * Wait for "Success" message And there you have it! Your mod is up and public, for all the world to see. Congratulations! :)